The Rose in the Thorns
by I am Alice Cullen
Summary: Rose narrowly escaped being sucked into the void but the Doctor has realized how dangerous it is to have Rose travel with him and he leaves her back on Earth. As Rose tries to move on, she is once again pulled back into the Doctor's world and kidnapped by enemies of the Doctor without the Doctor's knowledge. What happens when the Doctor comes back and finds Rose missing?
1. Chapter 1

It was only days after doomsday, days after the war between the Daleks and the Cybermen on planet Earth. So many people had died and Earth was still struggling with the sudden devastation. It seemed as though the tragedy had affected everyone somehow, and the future for Earth seemed uncertain. There was no denying it now; the Earth was not alone in the universe, and more than ever, it was vulnerable.

Rose Tyler already knew this however. She had seen many of those other worlds and met those other creatures that the human race was now just beginning to come in contact with. She had seen so many extraordinary things that Earth life was no longer appealing to her. She loved her mother and Micky of course, and she already loved her dad, who was now stuck in her dimension. But she could no longer picture herself living her life on just one planet. She wanted to explore the universe with the Doctor. There was no longer any other option but that for her.

The day they had opened the Breach and sucked the Daleks back into the void, Rose had almost lost that option. She clung for dear life to the magnet as the void pulled at her, Daleks whirling past her face. She wouldn't let go, she told herself, not for anything. She looked at the Doctor holding onto his lever; she had decided to stay for him. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life traveling with him. She had decided to give up everything for that dream, including her family, who were currently in the parallel universe about to be stuck there forever. She almost went with them, but she had come back to help the Doctor and follow her dream.

Suddenly the lever slipped. "Offline," an electronic woman's voice said as the void began to close. The Doctor's wide eyes met hers, the grin disappearing from his face. No, she thought, turning and reaching with one hand towards the lever, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach it unless she let go of the magnet completely. No, please no, let me reach! She prayed silently as she stretched her arm towards the lever that was now growing farther away. The knowledge of what she was going to have to do weighed heavy on her mind and heart. More than anything she wished things hadn't ended up this way, but they had and it was up to her to be the hero this time. She glanced at the Doctor, meeting his eyes, and the knowledge of what she was about to do reflected in his eyes.

Before he could convince her to stop, she turned away and let go of the magnet, both hands grasping the lever as the void pulled at her. She pulled as hard as she could but the force of the void was too strong and she flipped over, crying out as her body was yanked towards the gaping hole in the wall. Without the magnet holding her, it was so much harder to keep her grip. Her fingers began to slip but she held herself firm. She would not fail. She would not fail Earth, and she would especially not fail the Doctor.

Using all the strength in her body, she pushed on the lever, her muscles tightening. For a second, nothing happened, but finally the lever pushed back into position and the breach re-opened, sucking the Daleks into the void once again.

"Hold on Rose!" She could hear the Doctor calling for her. She looked at him, met his eyes again, and she could see the terror in them. He didn't want to lose her. That both melted her heart but also saddened her. The void was too strong. All she could do was hold onto the lever for dear life, feeling her fingers slip as the pull became stronger and stronger before finally her fingers slipped and she was falling.

"ROSE!" The Doctor was screaming. She reached for him even as he reached for her, his eyes wide with horror as he continued to scream for her. Somewhere deep inside her she didn't believe what was happening, that this was the end; the Doctor would save her. He always had a plan. He would come for her somehow. But looking into his eyes she knew this time, there was no plan. There never would be any plan. This was the end.

Suddenly her body smacked into two, and two pairs of arms wrapped around her. She recognized them immediately. Her mom and dad. They held her, refusing to let go as the breach shut and the void was closed off, the pull on her body slowly diminishing until she was standing, shaking, in her parents arms.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. Finally her parents let go and she looked at the Doctor, who still held his magnet, staring at them like he couldn't process what was going on. At first she herself didn't quite comprehend. She turned to her parents and her mother embraced her. "I just couldn't leave you. Micky is in the other dimension. I'm sorry Rose. I couldn't leave you."

The next few days were a blur of sirens, wailing, and countless news reports. More and more people were reported missing or dead. There never seemed to be any end. Rose spent the next few days helping her dad get situated in his new world; he would have to start from the bottom again, but somehow, watching her parents interact with each other, she knew he would be just fine.

It was the Doctor she was worried about. He never seemed to lose the dazed, distracted look in his eyes. He had always cracked jokes and teased her mother, but for days he let Jackie tell him what to do like he was some kind of robot. When Rose tried to talk to him about it, he shrugged his shoulders and insisted nothing was wrong. There were times though, when he thought she wasn't looking, that she saw the shadow of the same look he'd given her as she'd fallen towards the void in his eyes. It was as though the knowledge of almost losing her for good still haunted him. She knew she should have been more shaken by her almost death, but she couldn't bring herself to be. She was just happy that she would be travelling with the Doctor again.

The morning of their departure came. She looked around her messy room and sighed. Who knew when she'd see this room again? Her mother kept telling her to clean it up, but since she'd been travelling with the Doctor she hadn't had the time or the drive to do so. Why clean when you could be out exploring new worlds? She didn't know if she'd ever get around to cleaning the room. Someday she figured she'd come back and her things would be packed up in boxes on top of her mattress, and that thought made her a little sad.

But the sadness was always replaced with happiness; she'd be with the Doctor. For so long she hadn't known what to do with her life, but then the Doctor showed up and showed her that life was full of endless possibilities. The more she traveled with him, the closer she got to him until finally she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was hopelessly in love with him. She didn't know how much he'd appreciate that, since he was a Time Lord who still had so many hundreds if not thousands of years left to live and she was nothing but a mortal human with the life span of maybe ninety (if she was lucky) but she loved him anyway. She was content to spend her years traveling with him, even if it meant her affections never being acquitted.

Her mother entered the room and sighed. "I do wish you'd clean this room," she said, her hands on her hips.

Rose smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I promise I'll do it later." After a moment her mother smiled and they embraced, holding each other tightly.

"Promise me you'll stay safe." Her mother whispered in her ear.

"Of course mum. With the Doctor, I'll always be safe." Her mother went rigid in her arms and pulled away.

"You need to promise me Rose. Don't just rely on the Doctor. He can't always be there to protect you."

"What do you mean?" Rose felt a chill crawl down her spine at her mother's words; her first instinct was to defend the Doctor and ignore the warning, but something about it just wouldn't go away.

"We almost lost you. He almost lost you. There was nothing he could do except watch as you were pulled away from him. It was that easy. If you died…." She teared up, "I just can't lose you Rose."

Rose swallowed back discomfort and did her best to smile for her mother. "I promise I'll be safe mum. You'll see." She shouldered her backpack. "Where's dad?"

"Waiting for you in the kitchen."

Rose gave her mother one last hug before going to say goodbye to her father. "Where is the Doctor?" her father asked as she pulled away from the hug. She wanted to stay longer and get to know her father more, but the Doctor was not a patient man. He couldn't stick around for more than a few days before getting anxious to leave.

"He's waiting for me at the Tardis. I have to go though, or he might leave me behind." Her father laughed at that; the Doctor wouldn't leave her behind. Rose bade her father goodbye and left.

The normally busy streets were empty. Everyone was inside their homes, glued to their tellies as more reports came in, or they were simply enjoying the company of their loved ones. Rose made her way to the corner where the Tardis sat, her mind thinking on the new adventures that lay ahead of her. There was still so much out there to see; sometimes she wondered how the Doctor kept track of them all.

As she approached the Tardis, fishing through her pocket for the key, the door suddenly opened and the Doctor was there, blocking the doorway with his tall frame. "Oh!" she gasped, dropping the key onto the pavement with a cling! "Doctor you scared me!" She breathed out a shaky laugh, "I thought you'd be doing something inside, or…" she trailed off at the look on his face. "What is it? What's wrong? Don't tell me something isn't wrong either, because something is I can tell. You haven't been yourself for days and…"

The Doctor gave her a sad smile, "You know me too well Rose," he interrupted before he sighed, leaning against the door. "I don't know how to tell you this Rose. You know I like you a lot, and…"

Rose's eyebrow furrowed. What, was he breaking up with her? The Doctor stood there, at a loss for words, not meeting her eyes. If they'd been dating, she might have seriously thought he was breaking up with her but they hadn't been dating. So what was wrong with him?

Finally the Doctor straightened, looking her in the eye. "You can't come with me Rose."

The words hung in the air and for a moment Rose couldn't comprehend what he was saying. "What do you mean?" she breathed, "Why not?"

"It's too dangerous." Was his only reply.

"Of course it is," she said, louder this time, "Of course it's dangerous, but I'm safe as long as I'm with you!"

The Doctor was already shaking his head. "I can't protect you Rose. I…I almost lost you this time. When you were falling towards the void I really thought I would never see you again and it would have been all my fault. It was only luck that saved you. Next time you might not be so lucky. You can't come with me anymore."

She was already shaking her head. "No, I'm coming. I knew it would be dangerous but I want to be with you! I don't want to leave!" Normally when she said something like that the Doctor would smile as though no one had ever told him that before and give her a big hug. But this time he still stared at her as though he couldn't believe she was still alive. "Please Doctor," tears began to fall down her cheeks, "Don't leave me."

"I have to Rose. For your safety. You have parents who love you here, and you have so much you can do with your life. You won't get anywhere with me."

"No!" she was sobbing now, sobbing like a baby. It might have been embaressing, but every time she thought of a life without the Doctor her heart wrenched in two. "No! I don't care I don't want to leave your side, I…"

"Eventually you would have to leave me anyway!" The Doctor snapped, angry now, "You'll eventually wither away with the passage of time and die and I'll be left here by myself! Would you be so selfish to ask me to watch you die while I'm helpless to stop it? I've already lost to many others I've cared about Rose! I'll only bring you pain and it would be better to just stop pretending now!"

His words cut her deep and for a moment she just stared at him, growing numb. "But," she whispered, "I love you…" The words were out before she could stop them. It was too late though, and at first she thought the words would only make the Doctor angrier. But he softened and sighed.

"I…" he stopped. "Goodbye Rose. Live your life. Be happy." With that he turned and shut the doors to the Tardis. She heard the locks clicking into place. She knew all she had to do was reach down, pick up the key, unlock the door and demand to go with him but she just stood there, watching, too stunned and broken to move as the Tardis' engines began to whir, the blue box disappearing right before her eyes.

She didn't move even as the rain began to pour down on her head. She didn't move for hours, even when a police squad car pulled up and officers began to ask her if she needed any assistance. She said nothing, just stared at where the Tardis had been. The Doctor was gone. He wasn't coming back.

And she felt suddenly very, very vulnerable and alone.

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**So this is my first Doctor Who fanfic. I had this awesome dream about this, and it was just too good to pass up. Well, I thought it was good. What did you guys think? Leave me some reviews guys! I would love to hear from you. **

**-S**


	2. Doctor

Doctor

When a Time Lord loved someone, he loved them completely with not one but two hearts. Sure he had loved before. On Gallifrey he'd loved his wife but it had been more of a sense of duty to his planet. He'd loved his children, but it had been fatherly love. He'd loved his previous companions, but not romantically. Their fragile mortality kept him from doing so.

But Rose…she was different. For the first time in his life he really believed in someone. For the first time when he looked at someone both of his hearts sped up. He supposed Rose was different because she had been the one to change him seemingly without any effort. So often it was he who turned his companions into different people, but not Rose. She was still the beautiful, curious, kind, brave woman he'd met at the shop.

He hadn't realized that however until he almost lost her. Watching her fall toward the void and not being able to do anything to stop it, he'd never felt so helpless before. For a brief moment, as she fell, he almost let go of his magnet in a desperate attempt to save her, but just as he was about to make a decision her parents caught her just before she hit the Breach. Even when the Breach closed and Rose was obviously safe, he couldn't do anything but stare at her, his hearts racing as he replayed what had happened over and over in his mind.

That image continued to replay in his mind over and over again in the days following, especially when he looked at her. Every time she mentioned something about future travels his hearts sped up and his skin broke out into a sweat as he pictured all of the ways he could lose her for good. Now that he fully realized how important she was to him, he couldn't put her in that kind of danger again.

So he gave her up.

It was harder than he thought it would be. The look in her eyes as he told her she couldn't come with him tore his hearts into shreds. The more she tried to change his mind the more his resolve began to slip. Again the image of her falling towards the void ran through his mind. That was all it took to strengthen his resolve once more. He snapped at her, sounding cold and harsh even to his own ears and he wished he could take the words back but he knew that he couldn't, because if he did he would take her into his arms and apologize, giving in. But instead he watched as his words cut her deep, her expression full of anguish and betrayal.

"But," she whispered, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, "I love you."

His hearts twisted with longing in pain. Why did she have to say that? His resolve wavered. He opened his mouth. "I…"_ I love you too, but don't you see? That's why I need to leave. _But he didn't say that. He couldn't. He wouldn't give her anything to convince him to take her with him. So instead he squared his shoulders and said, "Goodbye Rose. Live your life. Be happy." _Please be happy,_ he added silently as he shut the blue Tardis door on her face, the locks clicking into place, _that's all I want for you; be happy and safe. _

_And away from me. _

His footsteps were heavy as he made his way to the control panel and punched in the coordinates. He had no idea what they were; all that mattered was that they were as far away from Earth as possible, as far away from Rose as he could possibly get.

He had to keep her safe.

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**I know it's short! I normally don't write short chapters but I wanted to give a little bit of a look into the Doctor's reaction to what happened in the first chapter. It's setting up for the awesomeness later. This will probably be the shortest chapter. I already know the next one will be MUCH longer. I've decided this story will be split between the Doctor's perspective and Rose's. I got so many positive, wonderful reviews that I can't wait to write more for you guys! Seriously your reviews really help not only my motivation but also my ideas. Actually this chapter was inspired by TheEvilAshleyness; they had some good suggestions and I decided they would benefit the story. So thank you TheEvilAshleyness! **

**Some replies; **

**Idontwanttogo; I love your username first of all. That scene in Doctor Who made me bawl like a baby (David Tennant noooooo I don't want you to go either come back! (though I do love the 11th Doctor too but still)). Anyhow I was rewatching the episode and I noticed that when her father caught her, they totally could have stayed. He wasn't affected by the void at all. There was no reason they HAD to go to the other dimension. Micky had already decided to stay in that dimension. Soooooo that's what I used to save Rose in this story.**

**erchills; Awwww! See, that's what a writer loves to hear; that her writing moved someone so much it brought tears to their eyes. I normally don't like making people cry (because usually it's not for good reasons) but still. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Your review brought tears to MY eyes, not kidding ask my roommate haha!**

**totallyau; It is sad :( but at least Rose isn't trapped in another dimension with no hope whatsoever of being the Doctor's companion in the Tardis. The feel of this chapter was also inspired by your review as well. So that's happy! :D Kind of cuz the chapter was sad but that's okay.**

**So, remember to review! And if you have a tumblr, send me your tumblr too, especially if it's got a lot of Doctor Who. See you next chapter! **

**-S**


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